Verizon Selling HTC Rhyme 'Gingerbread' Phone Sept. 29

Verizon Wireless (NYSE:VZW)
will begin
selling the HTC Rhyme, a 3G smartphone based on Google's (NASDAQ:GOOG)
Android 2.3 "Gingerbread" operating system Sept. 29 for $199.99 on
contract.
With its plum color and
special "charm" alert device (see it on The Verge blog), the Rhyme is targeted toward female
customers, HTC executives indicated at a launch event in New York City Sept.
20.

"HTC Rhyme represents
an entirely new approach, based on recognition that there is a substantial
group of consumers who want their phones to be more personal and complementary
to every moment of their day," Scott Croyle, vice president of design for
HTC, said in a statement.

Powered by a 1GHz processor,
the handset includes a 3.7-inch, WVGA super LCD touch-screen (800 by 480
resolution) and a new version of the HTC Sense user interface. Sense 3.5 boasts
a new, cleaner home screen that provides users quicker access to their calendar
and email and text messages.
There is also a front-facing
VGA camera for video chat and a 5-megapixel camera in the rear.
The rear camera comes
equipped with face-detection software to promote better picture taking, as well
as instant shutter, which automatically takes five consecutive shots of a
scene. The panoramic mode adds continuity for consecutive photo shoots
together.
The Rhyme also provides
users access to HTC Watch, which includes movies and TV shows for viewing via
the smartphone.
There are several
accessories for the Rhyme, three of which come packaged with the phone.
These include a docking
station that lets users recharge the phone and use the Rhyme as an alarm clock,
music center and photo frame; a tangle-free headset; and the "charm,"
a small cube that attaches to the phone's headset jack via a cord and glows to
alert the user to an incoming call or text message.
Target is the exclusive
national retailer for the HTC Rhyme on Verizon in the U.S.
From Sept. 21 through Sept.
26, consumers can preorder the HTC Rhyme at nearly 1,500 Target Mobile
locations before it launches in stores on Sept. 29.
The Rhyme will also be
available in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and the Asia-Pacific in October in
Clearwater and Hourglass colors.